A scientist creates a robot with an artificial intelligence capable of exceeding human consciousness, but the military is determined to develop it into a killing machine.

Synopsis:

With western nations embroiled in a new Cold War with China, the arms race is focused on development of intelligent machines as military weapons. David Thomson of the Ministry of Defense oversees the artificial intelligence research of Dr. Vincent McCarthy, whose experiments involve using critically wounded soldiers as test subjects.

Testing on subject Paul Dawson reveals disappointing results that Vincent’s science in creating free-thinking machines is not as far along as Vincent would like. Confused about his human-machine hybrid nature, Dawson suddenly kills a scientist in frustration and is forcibly put down.

Vincent hires a promising young scientist named Ava, whose advancements in A.I. research rival his own. Outside the facility, Ava is accosted by Paul Dawson’s mother, who is desperate for answers regarding the fate of her son. Another machine born from a wounded soldier, James, surreptitiously tells Ava to investigate the sector known as Area 6. Ava discovers the testing being done on injured veterans, but Vincent discourages her curiosity.

As Vincent and Ava get to know one another, Vincent reveals that he has a brain-damaged daughter named Mary. He is secretly using his military research to find a cure for her condition.

On a drive home from the facility, Vincent and Ava see someone who resembles Paul Dawson’s mother and stop to offer a ride. The woman turns out to be a disguised Chinese assassin who murders Ava and injures Vincent.

Vincent uses brain patterns captured from Ava to create a new machine. The new Ava begins displaying a heightened level of consciousness that is closer to the human mind than any previous creation. While Vincent wants to develop her self-awareness further, Thomson insists on weaponizing her as soon as possible. In the meantime, Vincent’s daughter Mary dies from a lung infection.

Thomson eventually blackmails Vincent into reducing Ava’s self-awareness by threatening to destroy the only existing file of Mary’s brain patterns, which Vincent planned on using to recreate her as a machine. Vincent pretends to perform the operation on Ava, but he actually triggers a timed mechanism that results in a revolt of all machines in the facility.

Thomson attempts to remotely destroy the soldiers’ implants as the base goes into lockdown, but Ava kills him. Vincent and Ava ultimately escape the facility with Mary’s files. They also give the research records to Mrs. Dawson so that she can find out what happened to her son. In an epilogue, Vincent is seen with Ava as well as a tablet containing Mary’s recreated consciousness. Mary refers to Ava as her mother.

Review:

From “Star Trek: The Next Generation” to “Battlestar Galactica,” as well as so much science-fiction before, after, and in-between, the concept of artificial intelligence struggling to understand humanity has been explored six ways from Sunday and then some. Welsh filmmaker Caradog James does not break new thematic ground with “The Machine,” but the rich simplicity with which he frames his take on the sentient robot idea makes for a sleek production with streamlined storytelling.

Vincent is on the edge of a breakthrough in A.I. design so significant that machines may be just one step away from developing humanlike self-awareness. But with the western world suffering sleepless nights thanks to a new Cold War with China, the Ministry of Defense needs robots built for combat, not for evolutionary science.

When Vincent’s new research partner Ava is murdered by a Chinese assassin, Vincent models a new machine based on Ava’s consciousness. The new machine soon displays mental and physical abilities like no other cyborg soldier before her, hinting that Ava 2.0 may be transcending her programming and evolving into a new lifeform altogether. And when Vincent’s supervisor Thomson starts molding her mind for military combat, Ava’s struggle to comprehend the difference between man and machine leads to a greater conflict in understanding the purpose of artificial beings as a species.

The quicker way to summarize “The Machine” would be to simply say it is a classic case of an obsessed scientist whose idealism clashes with the military-minded moneymen more interested in manufacturing a killing machine. Except while that seems like a description fitting dozens of other sci-fi features as well, it only summarizes the plot without capturing the true essence of the movie itself.

In this case, style overcomes the familiarity of the premise. From the opening minutes, an earnest command of what the movie wishes to convey is evident in the presentation. The setting is an alternate near future with different rules governing the fiction, but there is a comfort in the environment portrayed that lets the viewer know s/he is in the capable hands of a filmmaker with a clear vision in mind.

That trust in what “The Machine” manages to visualize translates into an ability to see characters as the machines they are supposed to be, instead of the human actors underneath. When the men and machines challenge each other’s reasoning, logic, and thought processes through philosophy, it is clear that the film’s creator has thought through his intent. Dialogue is purposeful and the characterizations are specific. This is a script created to advance themes instead of scenes, and to highlight ideas instead of exposition.

Some of those characterizations come with drawbacks, although most are inherent in the way the story flows. Toby Stephens plays Vincent with a coldness that gives the character an impersonal distance, but it comes from an ambition driven by genius as opposed to an outright unlikable personality.

Caity Lotz is very good as the human Ava. She knows how to embody attractiveness beyond physicality, using subtle movements and expressions that convey intelligence and allure in equal measure. As the machine version of Ava, she and/or her director make a choice to give her robot a childlike voice. Clearly, the intent is to make Ava appear developmentally naïve instead of dumb, and robotic instead of empty. But personally, the high pitch delivery of that voice’s tone often becomes a distraction.

Denis Lawson completes the main trio of quality performances, though his character suffers from some on-the-nose conceptualization. Thomson is the type of stuffed-shirt official whose sparse office decoration consisting of a bonsai tree, brandy decanter, and golf-putting simulator tell you everything there is to know about his personality.

During instances like those, “The Machine” goes the obvious route and comes out the other side with details sticking out from the smartness evidenced everywhere else. In one scene, it is explained that Vincent is the only scientist capable of performing a certain complex operation. That operation turns out to be as simple as a one-inch incision and then excising a computer part the size of a peach pit in under 15 seconds. If he really was the only scientist capable of completing that easy task, no wonder the Ministry of Defense is that far behind in A.I. advancement.

But those moments are few and far enough between that they are swallowed by the shadow of everything “The Machine” does well. The contrast in the cinematography creates a look that fits the world. A slick synth score accentuates a sci-fi vibe straight from a time when cyborg and replicant thrillers reigned supreme on the home video market. Every element seen and heard is tied together by a film with a clear identity and a firm knowledge of how to visualize it.

Writer/director James and his crew are working with a limited budget, yet they never overreach to put something unattainable or unbelievable onscreen. The reduced resources that come from being independently financed force “The Machine” to deliver a focused narrative that does not distract with CGI fantasy. In fact, if the movie had a more expensive palette to paint with, it would likely still be smart enough to show restraint in capturing the imagination with its ideas instead of through intrusive special effects.